The MPlay HD device can read SD, SDHC and MS cards and the EP600 only SD and SDHC?
Does the two units accept usb powered external hdd?
How many tb can be supported in each usb port? And in the esata port?
Is the EP600 Realtek processor better than the MPlay or the same?

Hi,

Support for MS is being depreciated in newer devices since Sony has also decided to drop this format for future devices.

All of our players will work with USB powered external HDD.

The MPLAY-HD and EP350 can support external drives up to 2TB in size. The EP350's internal SATA connection is also limited to 2TB. The EP600 can support USB or SATA drives up to whatever size they will be available in the future as long as GPT/NTFS is used. So the current 3TB and new 4TB drives are all supported.

The MPLAY-HD uses Realtek 1055, which is similar in video decoding performance to the Realtek 1073 used in the EP350. What the 1073 has over the 1055 is networking capabilities. The EP600 uses Realtek 1185, which is an upgrade to the 1073 in just about every area and is superior to the 1055.

A big benefit with the EP600 is its firmware. Most of the 1185 players out there work "more or less the same" because the firmware is just a copy or slight reskin of the basic Realtek firmware. The EP600 firmware actually makes significant changes to the way the player can be used and how the GUI reacts. For example, you can select which media type to include in the library index, which is useful since most people do not want their photos indexed along with their movies. While watching a video, you can use a slider to scroll through to a specific point in the video. The subtitle menu is a complete re-write and adds double-subtitle support.

Hi, I received the EP350 and when I attached everything, I noticed that it would not recognize the second USB port. I upgraded the firmware, switched the cables around, and switched the two portable hard drives around as well, and had the same issue. I take it that I got a defective unit....or was I maybe doing something wrong? Thanks.

Hi, I received the EP350 and when I attached everything, I noticed that it would not recognize the second USB port. I upgraded the firmware, switched the cables around, and switched the two portable hard drives around as well, and had the same issue. I take it that I got a defective unit....or was I maybe doing something wrong? Thanks.

Hi,

If everything is working well in USB Port 1 but not USB Port 2, then it's probably a bad port. Send us an email at support@miccastore.com and we'll exchange the player for you.

That's good too. If you haven't already sent out the defective EP350 back to Amazon, be sure to enclose a short note like "Bad USB" in the box packaging so that our return processing knows what went wrong with it.

Hi, Jack.
Can you do a comparison between the WD TV Live and the EP600, please. I just recently gave my WD TV Live away and was looking to get another one when I saw the EP600. I'm tempted to give the EP600 a go even though it costs a little more. From what I've gathered so far the WD TV Live has 512mb ram/flashrom compared to the EP600's 256mb ram/flashrom (how does that translate into differences in performance and upgradeability?), and that the Sigma chip lacks the ability to decode RMVB file. Can the EP600 play WMV9 file?(I'm assuming "no" since it's not on the list.) What are the strengths and weaknesses of the two compared to each other? Thanks.

Hi, Jack.
Can you do a comparison between the WD TV Live and the EP600, please. I just recently gave my WD TV Live away and was looking to get another one when I saw the EP600. I'm tempted to give the EP600 a go even though it costs a little more. From what I've gathered so far the WD TV Live has 512mb ram/flashrom compared to the EP600's 256mb ram/flashrom (how does that translate into differences in performance and upgradeability?), and that the Sigma chip lacks the ability to decode RMVB file. Can the EP600 play WMV9 file?(I'm assuming "no" since it's not on the list.) What are the strengths and weaknesses of the two compared to each other? Thanks.

Hi,

The WD TV Live and the EP600 uses different chipset solutions, and the amount of supporting RAM/Flash that each needs is not directly comparable. I do think that the Realtek 1185 being a newer generation decoder/processor, will run into less compatibility issues than the somewhat older Sigma Design 8655. But for the core collection of the most popular codecs and formats, there would be very little difference between the two.

WMV9 is supported along with VC-1, so that won't be a problem for the EP600.

The key strengths of the EP600 comes back to its firmware quality. It makes the EP600 very easy to use, with many convenient settings, playback and subtitle controls not found on other players. We are looking to get the EP600 reviewed by some third parties that can can take a look at the product and draw comparisons from a more neutral point of view.

The WD TV Live and the EP600 uses different chipset solutions, and the amount of supporting RAM/Flash that each needs is not directly comparable. I do think that the Realtek 1185 being a newer generation decoder/processor, will run into less compatibility issues than the somewhat older Sigma Design 8655. But for the core collection of the most popular codecs and formats, there would be very little difference between the two.

WMV9 is supported along with VC-1, so that won't be a problem for the EP600.

The key strengths of the EP600 comes back to its firmware quality. It makes the EP600 very easy to use, with many convenient settings, playback and subtitle controls not found on other players. We are looking to get the EP600 reviewed by some third parties that can can take a look at the product and draw comparisons from a more neutral point of view.

Hi Jack,
will EP600 and EP350 play BD-ISO over wired network fine ? Do they support BD-ISO full menu ?Looking for upgrade as I have WD Live and first gen Xtreamer and the audio is stuttered when playing BD-ISO over network.

ep350 and Ep600 both support BD-ISO, i think eP350 support BD-iso is better than Ep600 ,becasue realtek 1073 is a mature sloution now ,but ep600 only support BD1.0 ,for play over network , i advice no play too large file .

The WD TV Live and the EP600 uses different chipset solutions, and the amount of supporting RAM/Flash that each needs is not directly comparable. I do think that the Realtek 1185 being a newer generation decoder/processor, will run into less compatibility issues than the somewhat older Sigma Design 8655. But for the core collection of the most popular codecs and formats, there would be very little difference between the two.

WMV9 is supported along with VC-1, so that won't be a problem for the EP600.

The key strengths of the EP600 comes back to its firmware quality. It makes the EP600 very easy to use, with many convenient settings, playback and subtitle controls not found on other players. We are looking to get the EP600 reviewed by some third parties that can can take a look at the product and draw comparisons from a more neutral point of view.

Thanks for answering. I'll go ahead and order one. The slider control is one of the key selling points for me. I've been looking for that feature for a while. One more question, does the EP600 have any heat problem? My WDTV Live did have that problem. After watching movie for a while it gets hot and start to stutter a bit. I'd have to turn it off, let it cool down for a few minutes then it'd be back to normal.

EP600 will support harddrive just fine, just put it on top. Actually I prefer the SATA external interface because it allows me to switch between SATA HDs, DVD/BD-Roms with little fuss. As long as these devices support both DTS-MA/TrueHD passthrough I might have to pick one up.

Jack- Any chance of adding proper embedded/stylized (.TIFF) support so those of us who watch anime fansubs can view them properly? I know the Realtek devices with generic firmware have very basic Unicode (and various language) subtitle support w/placement and size, and that's pretty much it.

XBOX Live: WagmmanPSN: WaggBFBC2: WagmanSteam: Wag

My Second Life character looks and acts exactly like me except he can fly.

Hi Jack,
will EP600 and EP350 play BD-ISO over wired network fine ? Do they support BD-ISO full menu ?Looking for upgrade as I have WD Live and first gen Xtreamer and the audio is stuttered when playing BD-ISO over network.

Hi,

EP350 will play BD-ISO but without menu support. EP600 offers Profile 1.0 or BD-Lite menus. Both will be able to stream BD-ISO over wired network. With very high bitrate BD-ISOs, ones that include lossless 7.1 audio tracks, the EP350's network may struggle to keep up. For those, I would recommend the EP600.

Thanks for answering. I'll go ahead and order one. The slider control is one of the key selling points for me. I've been looking for that feature for a while. One more question, does the EP600 have any heat problem? My WDTV Live did have that problem. After watching movie for a while it gets hot and start to stutter a bit. I'd have to turn it off, let it cool down for a few minutes then it'd be back to normal.

Hi,

The EP600's aluminum sleeve helps the PE600 stay cool. We have not had any reports of heat related issues and the casing only gets warm, not hot, during prolonged use.

Jack- Any chance of adding proper embedded/stylized (.TIFF) support so those of us who watch anime fansubs can view them properly? I know the Realtek devices with generic firmware have very basic Unicode (and various language) subtitle support w/placement and size, and that's pretty much it.

You mean SSA or ASS subtitles correct? I know the EP350 only supports the very basic things. Let me check if the EP600 offer any enhancements in this regard.

Hi, I am looking at playback devices for network streaming and media playback from attached storage, and found my way into this thread. I have not heard of Micca up to this point, but I have learned that if there is a fanbase on AVS forum, a small, specialized company that I have not heard of can be an excellent alternative to the "big names". (Take Oppo, for example )

I made my first post in the media streamers/network device subforum yesterday, in which I cited my wishlist:

*ESSENTIAL FEATURES*
- Able to play 1080p over HDMI (so I already know that excludes Apple TV from my choices)
- Digital audio out (either optical or coax)
- GigE capable LAN (10/100/1000 Mbps)
- Decent scaling to 1920x1080 of material below 1920x1080 (will be attached to a Pioneer Kuro Elite plasma TV)
- The formats I need to play are .MPG/.MPEG, .TS/.TP, .MP4, .M2TS/.MTS (.mkv support is not needed)
- Can support either native closed captions for hearing impaired from OTA broadcast, or subtitles with .srt file

*DESIRED BUT NONESSENTIAL FEATURES*
- Able to read NTFS as well as FAT32 format over USB
- Can automatically play files sequentially (i.e. nonstop) if they have appropriately numbered filenames (i.e. CLIP_01.MPG, CLIP_02.MPG, CLIP_03.MPG, etc.)
- Able to read long name files/folders (at least 20 characters)
- Can play .iso files, either natively or with the aid of virtual drive mount tool (probably under a networked Windows XP PC)
- Nice variety of content options over Internet (Netflix, YouTube, etc.)

It looks like I should be considering the Micca EP600, and at $100 on Amazon, it sounds like a terrific deal.

Just a couple of questions to the group here.

1. The EP600 is brand new, but I presume it builds upon previous product designs. So how are the Micca products when it comes to upscaling SD to HD, say 720x480 -> 1920x1080? Does anyone here know what upscaling algorithm(s) are used by the hardware/chipset?

2. In a similar PQ vein, how are the Micca products when it comes to deinterlacing pure interlaced material for playback on progressive displays? And also, does it do decent inverse telecine (IVTC) for film based material that is telecined for 29.97fps? As I am viewing on a Pioneer Kuro Elite, the PQ issues are pretty important. General feedback from the group regarding Micca product PQ would be appreciated

I downloaded and read the EP600 user guide PDF, and it says that there is a video setting for 1080P 24Hz for 23.976/24fps progressive sources. That's a great feature. I also noted that a "VFD" button on the remote can turn off the VFD light on the front panel of the player, but the manual says it applies only to the EP650. So does that mean that EP600 users must live with a big blue light on the front panel? I hope that it can be disabled, because device lights are distracting to me when I am watching TV or movies.

Those are the only "issues" I could come up with, but I am otherwise very inclined to purchase the EP600. If anyone can comment on my questions here, that would be great. Thank you all in advance for your assistance

Is there a possibility the ep600 can be controlled via network/http commands?

If not, is there a file available that has the full list of IR commands?

I'm looking to purchase this device as it seems to fit all my needs (small, down mix HD audio to stereo, stream lossless .mkv blu ray rips), but adding it to my remote control system is where I need some help. The Dune players can be controlled via http but cost a significant amount more....

ep350 and Ep600 both support BD-ISO, i think eP350 support BD-iso is better than Ep600 ,becasue realtek 1073 is a mature sloution now ,but ep600 only support BD1.0 ,for play over network , i advice no play too large file .

My main interest in MICCA players is as a replacement to a WDTV Live, so all my comments will go in comparison of that unit. Lately I've acquired many media video files in mp4 format with AAC audio but the WDTV Live cannot convert that to something my receiver can understand because it doesn't decode AAC. I have no interest in converting the audio to ac3 or anything else even if with my core i5 its very fast using handbrake, but it beats the point so I just want hardware that can do it all.

Having internal hdd bay and sata connection would also help me use those old hard drives I have laying around.

I like that it has composite, component and audio on the back like a dvd/bd player not like the Live which uses a proprietary dongle or plug, so when your cable gets damaged replacing it is easy. Also like that is has an off switch for those times you will be away a while.

Remote seems great by the pictures, prefer a button to perform actions directly like audio tracks or subtitle on/off. With the Live every file I play gets a tedious ritual, first press option, hit right, press zoom out (because the signal does not fit on my 4:3 crt correctly maybe do to an overscan or something), and if it's the usual dual audio anime hit left 2 or 3 times to change the audio tracks. If I have the command on the remote it would be a simple two presses. I see from the manual that the player has zoom settings in the video settings which could solve my problems, this is missing in the Live. Also pictures settings will help improve picture quality on my old crt which has the worst brightness / contrast ever.

My questions would be:

Does it decode multichannel AAC to LPCM which my receiver will accept?

I like to run things quiet for when watching stuff on low volume a fan doesn't distract you, how is fan noise, is it noticeable?

Live gets rather hot on standby, how is heat with this unit?

Can you check for firmware update, download and install directly in the unit?

What are the differences between an EP350 and EP600? Will there be something similar to an EP600 with drive bays? price range?

I am not sure about the multi-channel AAC. It should get converted to multi-channel LPCM over HDMI. I'll find a multi-channel AAC video to try.

The EP350 has a fan, but the EP600 doesn't. If you like quiet, the EP600 would be a better choice. The EP350's fan isn't loud, but some may hear it.

Neither the EP350 or the EP600 gets hot. Luke warm is about it.

The players are not able to download/update directly from the Internet. So both require that the user download the firmware from our website and apply it using a USB drive.

By default, the players will play the first audio track found. Both the EP350 and EP600 have an "audio" button on the remote to quickly change audio tracks.

The EP600 supports folder thumbnails if you have a "folder.jpg" file.

Online streaming for both players is limited to Youtube and various video/audio casts - if online video streaming is important, we recommend the PlayOn.tv software package to run as a UPnP gateway on your computer, which will allow the players to access Netflix, Hulu, etc.

The current difference between the EP350 and EP600 is that the EP600 uses a Realtek 1185 chip, gigabit ethernet, premium construction, and better software.

Does anyone know what type of device the EP600 is for a logitech harmony one?

I previously had an ep350 and I thought I had it set-up as a media player but I no longer see that option.

Also, has anyone been able to get plex media server to work with the upnp? I couldnt get it to show up.

Thanks

Digital media players typically work well setup as DVD players for Harmony remotes. However, since the codes for the EP600 is not in the Harmony device library, it's necessary to use the learning capability of the Harmony remote to duplicate the EP600 remote.

I'd like to recommend that someone create a new thread for the Micca EP600 to facilitate discussions about this player, since the EP600 is fairly different from the EP250/EP350 players. Otherwise, the discussion of the EP600 getting buried in this thread may be difficult to find.